Who will have the last laugh- Gayle or Russell
Cricfrenzy
|| CF Correspondent ||
Who will have the last laugh- Chris Gayle or Andre Russel- looks to be talking point ahead of the build-up for the second qualifier between Chattogram Challengers and Rajshahi Royals, scheduled at the Sher-e- Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.
While Gayle is yet to blaze for Challengers it is the same with Russell as well and who knows they might have saved their best for the do-or-die game considering their wealth of experience in the shortest format.
In the group phase, Challengers defeated Royals in their first meeting while Royals took the revenge in their second game but it hardly matters now as everything will come down to zero as the losers will be eliminated from the tournament while the winners will book their berth in the final against Khulna Royals.
Both the teams came this far on the back of their performance of the local stars and it is left to be seen whether they can strike in the important game that is likely to test the nerves more than anything else and considering these things the performance of Gayle and Russel can be the decisive factor in the outcome of the game.
Batsman Imrul Kayes played outstandingly for Challengers while Mahmudullah, who missed a large part due to his injury, came back strongly and made some valuable contribution while wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan also did well for them with the willow.
Chattogram bowling unit was led by left-arm pace bowler Mehedy Hasan Rana while seasoned campaigner Rubel Hossain also showed some sign of returning to form in the ongoing BBPL.
Royal’s success largely depended on their opening batsman as Liton Kumar Das and Afif Hossain led them from the front but at the same time it also had a negative impact as their middle-order hardly got the chance to have some time in the middle apart from Shoaib Malik, who got some runs under his belt for them.
Royal’s are also having another problem as their bowling unit is yet to look settled despite coming so far and furthermore after using eight to nine bowlers in some of the matches to see who can deliver what on crunch situation.
Royal’s manager Hannan Sarkar said that they are quite happy that they have the several bowling options in hand due to the availability of several all-rounder in the team.
‘’T20 is usually a game of batsmen. Now this time we are witnessing big runs. Every team is trying to be different with their bowling side and now it has become an issue. But I still think, if there is good number of all-rounder, and then become more helpful. It depends on the captain and his ability. If you have so many options in bowling department, if the skipper focuses on how to use them properly then I think there is more possibility to do well,’’ Hannan, the former national cricketer, said about their formation of their bowling unit.
Challenger’s manager Fahim Muntasir said that they believe toss is becoming a vital factor in the outcome of the game.
‘’I think anything can happen in T20 cricket. I think the toss was important in that match. The wicket was damp and that is the reason why our top order batsmen could not do well. It could be an accident. We have been playing well consistently from the beginning,’’ said Muntasir.
Both of them echoed the same sentiment when their attention was drawn regarding the Caribbean duo as they believe they are big match players.
‘’If you look at their career you will see they had rise on big occasions and we are expecting a similar thing from them[ Gayle and Russell] ,’’ added both managers ahead of the crucial game.
